“So you’re American, not English?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I loved going to America,” said Jean Pierre.
“When I got out of the cab on Manhattan I fell to my knees in awe!” exclaimed Celine.
“My heart burst when I stepped to the edge of the Grand Canyon,” Gerard told me.
“I thought I could drive from Ohio to California in one day. It took four days!” said Jean-Claude.
Another voice asked, “Do you know Weesuspesus?”
“What?
“Weesuspesus.”
Slowly my ears deciphered this strange word-- Reese's Pieces!
“Well yes I do know that candy.” (Probably my favorite candy. The person asking me this would never believe how many peanut butter cups I had eaten for my lunch back in the states - but a Frenchman eating junk for lunch on the run is not conceivable)
“When you go back to America could you bring back a little bag so I can share that delicious taste with my children?”
This small request came from a young, enterprising woman who runs a little cafe with spiced coffees, chai and tasty organic baked goods. She has two adorable young sons who are friends with Jolie so the only answer was yes. When a recent visitor graciously asked what they could bring us from the states I asked her to tuck a bag of this exotic candy into her luggage.
Imagine how tickled we were when a large sign went up at this woman’s cafe to entice summer traffic that said (loosely translated) “Big Chunks Tasty Ben and Jerry’s”. So here was a woman that understands the bigness of America-- even if it comes from Vermont, our former little corner of that great big country. Thank you Ben and Jerry!
